Dovewing's Ghost
by gracefulhorse
Summary: A forbidden family destroyed by greencough. A kit forever haunted by dreams and distant memories she can't explain. A prophecy that threatens to destroy all the Clans. Can they be saved?
1. Chapter 1

**Note:** This occurs before the events of the new series that starts with "The Apprentice's Quest." We're pretending that the events there aren't going to happen, because I'm altering the Clans as they are in the new series for this story. Also, cats "came back to life" in Omen of the Stars. I'm kind of going to erase the principles of that because I HATED how it worked (it seemed weird and supernatural) and I'm going to make a different sort of ghost.

 **Prologue**

Dovewing padded quietly through the forest, flanked by her only kit. The tiny she-kit was marked with the tabby orange stripes of TigerClan, emulating her father instead of Dovewing's soft gray pelt. The pair walked along the edge of Twolegplace to conceal their scent among the strong, unfamiliar stench of kittypets.

"How much longer do we have to walk, Dovewing?" the she-kit complained. "It smells like mouse dung here!"

Dovewing was too tired to remind her young kit to watch her tongue. "Not too much longer, Flamekit. Be patient and follow." Dovewing suddenly crumpled to her paws as she was racked by a bout of coughing, green phlegm working its way up from her throat.

She had been trying to keep the sickness away from her kit, but Dovewing had noticed Flamekit coughing a bit as well over the past few sunrises. Dovewing's secret had long been discovered, so there was no chance for her to find refuge. But if no one knew who Flamekit really was... then there was hope for the kit.

Dovewing and Flamekit were still walking along the fences of Twolegplace when the sun began slipping behind the earth. Flamekit, only a moon old and too young for any amount of travel, was sprawled asleep on top of Dovewing as she walked. In her sleep, the kit breathed quietly, but occasionally startled Dovewing with a hoarse cough. _It's not greencough yet,_ Dovewing told herself desperately. _She's going to make it._

Dovewing traveled the entire night, muscles burning from making the long journey with greencough raging inside of her. But eventually the fences of Twoleg place began to grow sparse and trees inched closer, almost within reach of the boldest kittypets. Dovewing ventured farther from the close embrace of Twoleg fences and breathed in a familiar scent, her heart cracking. She ventured into the woods with no fear. As long as she wasn't spotted, the scent that she left, reeking of the sickness, would conceal her true identity.

As she padded weakly through the forest with sleeping Flamekit on her back, Dovewing prayed to StarClan. _Please, let her remember nothing about me. This isn't her fault. Let her be safe._ Dovewing winced as a tiny flash of cold landed on her nose—a snowflake. She sighed in relief as she realized how lucky she was to arrive before the harsher snows blanketed the ground. Was it a sign from StarClan?

Dovewing traveled further into the forest until she reached ThunderClan camp, right outside the wall of brambles that protected part of the cliffs. She laid sleeping Flamekit down, brushing her nose against the kit's feverous forehead in a final goodbye. With StarClan's blessing, she wouldn't remember her mother, or her Clan name, which might strike a thoughtful ThunderClan cat as suspicious. She was too young to remember much, so Dovewing could hope for the best.

Dovewing let out a mournful yowl to alert her old Clanmates to the kit waiting outside their camp. Her voice was so changed by the greencough that they could never recognize that it was her. She heard stirring from inside the camp and knew it was time to go. Flamekit was still asleep.

"Goodbye, my love. I'll watch over you from the stars."

And so Dovewing left, leaving her only joy behind her. Though she had no powers left after the Dark Forest battle, her ears were still sharp enough to hear cats speaking when she reached the edge of the forest. She sighed, taking a small comfort in knowing that her precious kit was safe. _StarClan, please watch over her._

Dovewing was almost too weak to stay up on her feet once she had traveled back outside Clan territory. She returned to the hollow tree that had been her home before the sickness struck her small family. The dirt where her mate had been buried was still fresh.

Dovewing sighed one final time, laid her head upon the ground where Tigerheart was buried, and joined him in the stars.

 **Note #2:** Autocorrect wants be to be writing Devoting and Flameout instead of Dovewing and Flamekit, so forgive me if I accidentally slip up with that.

So here are some questions for anyone to answer, if you want to be super awesome and offer some advice.

What should Flamekit's new name be? Since she's not allowed to remember anything, she'll have to be renamed. :3

What is your _honest_ opinion about this story? Should I continue it or not?

Why are the Clans so strict about inter-Clan relationships now? (obviously Tigerheart and Dovewing became a thing) I mean, ordinarily the relationship would be ended and the cat's reputation ruined, but what would warrant being exiled from the Clan like Dovewing seems to be? And it seems like Dovewing knows that they wouldn't save her life, even when she's dying from greencough. I need this dynamic to set up the events of the story, but I also need to provide a reason for it. Some help with that would be great.

If you have any other comments, let me know, I'd be happy to hear them! Thanks for reading! :D


	2. Chapter 2

I-really-hope-not: Thanks so much for the advice! I like the idea of the Clans cracking down on inter-Clan relationships because of prophecies involving them. I think I'll also give ThunderClan a new leader (sorry, Bramblestar!) because Bramblestar, having weird Clan blood himself, probably shouldn't be the cat to do that. And Tigerkit is a good name, it'll show how little the Clan knows about her father.

PS, what a nice surprise to get advice from you! I was looking for a site with Warriors fan fiction and yours was the first story I read on this one. :)

 **Note:** There is some controversy about Dovewing's eye color, which is kind of a key factor in this story. It has been confirmed by the Erin Hunters to be gold. So don't tell me I'm wrong! :P

Bumblestripe's muscles tensed as he heard a loud yowl right outside ThunderClan's camp. It didn't sound like the voice of a cat from any of the Clans, so his mind instantly jumped to a rogue invasion. "Thornstar!" Bumblestripe yowled, desperately hoping that his leader was in camp and ready to gather warriors that could fight. No one came except for Poppyfrost and Fernsong, one of the newest warriors.

"What's happening?" Fernsong asked, digging his unsheathed claws into the earth. Like all the new warriors, he was eager to help his Clan, and was still careless enough to leap into battle at a moment's notice. "Did you hear that yowl outside?" Bumblestripe asked in a low, quiet voice. Fernsong nodded, Poppyfrost listening to their conversation with her ears pricked. "We'd better go check it out," she asserted, dropping into a low crouch and heading for the exit to ThunderClan's camp.

Bumblestripe followed her, Fernsong trailing excitedly behind. There was a strange, musty scent hanging about the camp entrance, which Poppyfrost seemed to ignore, but Bumblestripe noted with nervousness creeping up inside him. The unfamiliar scent must be from a rogue! Bumblestripe's fur was bristling when the three cats stepped out of the entrance to camp, anticipating some sort of ambush. But there was nothing to be seen, and no more yowling to be heard. A small flurry of snow hinted at the coming of leaf-bare, but that was nothing unusual for this time of year.

Bumblestripe gasped in surprise when he turned back to the wall of camp and saw a tiny kit sleeping peacefully, with the strange scent hanging about her. Her pelt was striped like a tiger, eyes closed peacefully. He gazed pointedly at the kit so that Fernsong and Poppyfrost would see it as well. Fernsong startled Bumblestripe by letting out a surprised yowl. "For StarClan's sake, Fernsong, be quiet!" Bumblestripe snapped, unsure of what to do. Poppyfrost pushed in front of Bumblestripe, who trusted that the experienced queen would know what to do.

Poppyfrost gently took the scruff of the kit. "Come on, we have to get her to camp. It's getting cold out," she mewed, voice muffled by the kit's scruff in her jaws. The kit's eyes stayed tightly closed, the small creature still sleeping sound. Bumblestripe and Fernsong followed the she-cat back into ThunderClan's camp. It was evening, and the kits, queens, and elders were all sleeping, but the warriors had yet to return from their patrols. Bumblestripe was nervous about what Thornstar might say. He was usually very reluctant about letting outsiders into ThunderClan camp.

Poppyfrost took the kit into the nursery to await Thornstar's judgement, pushing the she-kit to her belly for warmth. Bumblestripe, content that camp was secured and safe, left the nursery and paced nervously around camp. He took a scrawny mouse from the fresh-kill pile and did little more than mangle its greasy brown pelt.

When the sun had almost set, Thornstar returned to camp. The relatively new leader had been made only two moons ago. Squirrelflight, Bramblestar's mate, had died in battle, and the Clan leader, on his last life, quickly wasted away in his grief and misery. He had barely enough time to name a new deputy, then Thornclaw, before he joined StarClan. Thornstar had made some changes to ThunderClan, which made Bumblestripe nervous about the she-kit's fate. He thought that being a former kittypet or half-Clan, or even the descendant of one, made a cat more likely to have a prophecy.

"Each prophecy brings death within the Clan. So we will have no more of this," Thornstar had said shortly after becoming leader. He had exiled Bumblestripe's beloved Dovewing for her suspected relationship with Tigerheart of ShadowClan, which was confirmed by Tigerheart's disappearance from his own Clan shortly after Dovewing was exiled, though thankfully, he hadn't exiled Clanmates like Lionblaze, Jayfeather, Daisy, Millie, and the others who didn't meet his standards. Bumblestripe _was_ happy that the cat he loved got to live the life she wanted, but Thornstar's strict policies about kittypets and rogues made him nervous about the she-kit.

Bumblestripe padded up to Thornstar and licked his chest fur nervously. "Thornstar, a kit was found outside camp today," he mewed cautiously. Thornstar gazed at Bumblestripe for a moment and nodded slowly. "Were rogues or kittypets scented near camp?" he asked. Bumblestripe shook his head. "Just a strange musty scent. I'm not sure it was even of cats, though. It'll probably have faded away by now," Bumblestripe meowed. Thornstar's eyes instantly shot open with fear. "Show me this kit!" he ordered. Fur standing on end, Bumblestripe directed Thornstar to the nursery, trailing him to see what would happen.

Thornstar took a sniff of the she-kit and began yowling at Bumblestripe. "Why would you bring her into camp, you idiot? This is the scent of greencough!" he spat angrily. After a few seconds, ThunderClan's leader calmed down. "If you're lucky, none of the other kits will be infected. Take her to the medicine den straight away. If she is healed, she may stay in the Clan. She seems to be just the abandoned kit of a rogue. Rogues aren't capable of anything special," Thornstar meowed. Anger was still present in his voice, but Bumblestripe detected less, just tiredness.

Bumblestripe sometimes wondered if his leader was insane. He knew he shouldn't, since StarClan had chosen to give him his nine lives, but Bumblestripe missed Bramblestar's reign nonetheless. He took the scruff of the she-kit and brought her to the medicine den, where Jayfeather could do his best to heal her of the greencough. As he entered the den, he heard a mewling from the kit, who had woken up. Bumblestripe laid her on the ground and explained to Jayfeather the situation.

"This kit has greencough. She was found just outside camp today, and Thornstar says that she can stay if she's healed," Bumblestripe mewed quickly at Jayfeather's questioning glance. The blind medicine cat disappeared into the back of the den to gather catmint, and Bumblestripe looked over the she-kit. She didn't look _that_ sick.

Suddenly the kit turned around to look at Bumblestripe, eyes wide open. Bumblestripe gasped and his heart almost stopped. Her eyes were as golden as a lion's pelt, as golden as the hot sun rising over camp in the middle of the day. As golden and sparkling as Dovewing's. Bumblestripe instantly understood, almost collapsing to the ground in sorrow. "In honor of Dovewing, you shall be named Tigerkit," Bumblestripe whispered.

So, what did you think?

The three questions:

Should I continue it from the point of view of Bumblestripe or Tigerkit?

Should I fast-forward to when Tigerkit becomes an apprentice, so we can get to the more interesting plot?

There's going to be a prophecy in this story. What should it be, and what will it mean? I want to somehow involve the ghost of Dovewing guiding her kit from the stars.

Thanks for your help, everyone! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Enchanted-thank you, that really means a lot! :)

Sunfrost of Windclan-thanks for the ideas, I really like them. I'll definitely be basing the prophecy off of your suggestions, and adding this one more chapter about Tigerkit in her kit hood. I may or may not use the idea about Thornstar's kit, or maybe adapt it a bit.

Anyway, here's the rest of Tigerkit's kithood.

Tigerkit laid on her back, stretching her legs and staring at the ceiling of the medicine den. Isolated from the other kits because of her barely-lingering greencough, there was nothing for her to do to pass the hours except hunt crawling insects and pounce on leaves.

A beetle crawled along the ground, oblivious to Tigerkit's careful stalking. She became so wrapped up in her game that she bumped right into Jayfeather's pelt, which immediately stood on end in his annoyance. "Get out from under my paws!" Jayfeather spat. "The sooner you leave, the better!" Tigerkit lowered her head ashamedly.

"I'm sorry, Jayfeather. I was bored and there's no one else to play with," Tigerkit mewed pitifully. Jayfeather rolled his blind eyes, clearly not feeling sorry for the young kit. He pushed a few leaves of catmint toward her. "Hopefully this will speed up your recovery so you can be with the other kits and out from under my paws as soon as you can," he jabbed. Tigerkit reached out with a paw to take the herb. It had tasted bitter and nasty to her at first, but she had grown to enjoy the sensation of the catmint juices seeping into her mouth. The other herbs he tried to force-feed to her, however, like tansy, were instantly spit out.

Tigerkit pulled the catmint away to a corner and began working at it while Jayfeather continued with what he had been doing before—sorting out his stocks of herbs. After she'd eaten the catmint, she saw the same beetle climbing up the wall of the medicine den—shiny, green, and begging to be pounced on. Slowly stalking toward the insect, Tigerkit made one last lunge—only to be caught at the last second in the jaws of Leafpool. "Oh, Tigerkit," Leafpool sighed. "You're well enough to go to the nursery."

The medicine cat, still holding Tigerkit by the scruff of her neck, made her way to the medicine den. Tigerkit's legs flailed in the air with excitement. Leafpool put Tigerkit down just outside the nursery. "Be quiet for just a little while longer, please, Tigerkit," Leafpool pleaded. "Lilyheart's kits are sleeping, but they'll be able to play later."

Tigerkit nodded and slipped into the nursery to sleep by Lilyheart's side. The gentle she-cat had come into the medicine den every so often to nurse Tigerkit, who still needed milk and had no mother. The she-kit hadn't met her adoptive littermates yet, however, and was a ball of energy forcing herself to sleep.

Tigerkit knew that she couldn't go out of the nursery to play yet. She'd discovered that she had a tendency to annoy her Clanmates, and wasn't sure why. She had once been playing outside the medicine den when she bumped into Thornstar, who hissed at her. "Dirty-blooded rogue! Get out of my sight!" he had spat at her. _But I'm not a rogue!_ Tigerkit had thought to herself. _I was born in the Clan, right? I can't remember anything else..._

Tigerkit's thoughts about her strange Clanmates kept her occupied until one of Lilyheart's kits woke up and yawned, their jaws stretching wide open. "Who are you?" the black tom kit asked.

"I'm Tigerkit! I'm going to live with you!" Tigerkit whispered excitedly, careful not to wake the other kits. "What's your name?"

"I'm Larkkit," the tom said, letting out another huge yawn.

"Who are your littermates?" Tigerkit asked, hoping they'd wake up soon so that they could all play.

"They're Leafkit and Honeykit," Larkkit mewed quietly, nodding his head at each respective sister.

Not sure what to say, Tigerkit whispered, "Cool. Want to play?" Larkkit shrugged.

"Sure. We could probably go outside the nursery once my mother wakes up. Hey, how old are you? I'm _three moons!_ " Larkkit announced proudly. Tigerkit licked her chest fur nervously. "Well, I'm one moon..."

"Ha!" Larkkit yowled. "I'm older than you!" The kit's loud call awoke Lilyheart and the two other she-kits, all of whom yawned sleepily.

"Larkkit, please be quieter next time!" Lilyheart hissed, but there wasn't much anger in her voice. The black kit rolled his eyes, turning to Tigerkit with an expression of _can you believe her?_ Tigerkit purred in amusement, and soon the kits were outside the nursery, playing.

"Who are you?" Leafkit asked curiously.

"I'm Tigerkit," Tigerkit boasted. "Named after TigerClan!"

"Where's your mother?" Leafkit aimed another question at her new playmate. Tigerkit shrugged in response, and Honeykit quickly jumped into the conversation. "I know what happened! Her mother's a rogue and didn't love her!" the kit yowled with an expression of disgust. "She's not even a Clan cat!" At Honeykit's hurtful jibe, Leafkit turned apologetically away from Tigerkit. The she-kit and Larkkit watched on as the Honeykit and Leafkit dove back into the nursery, for the safety of their mother, a _Clan_ cat. "I'm sorry," Larkkit said. "They can be like that sometimes. Do you still want to play?"

Tigerkit turned to Larkkit with a purr, thankful that she wasn't completely abandoned. As they both pounced on a ball of moss, Tigerkit's thoughts were preoccupied by this new revelation. _My mother wasn't from the Clan? Everyone must hate me!_ As if reading her mind, Larkkit turned to Tigerkit. "Honeykit and Leafkit might not play with you anymore, but _I_ don't hate you."

Tigerkit dipped her head gratefully, abandoning thoughts of of her other Clanmates to suggest a new game.

The day stretched out until sundown, when Lilyheart called the two tussling kits back into the nursery to sleep. Yawning, Larkkit protested. "I'm not tired!"

"Yes, you are," the queen stated with an amused purr. Tigerkit's legs were a bit numb from playing all day. She was embarrassed that she couldn't protest as much as Larkkit, being only a moon old and ready to sleep until badgers flew. Larkkit eventually gave up, knowing that his mother would always win. Tigerkit curled up in the warmth of Lilyheart's side. She felt Leafkit and Honeykit move a few inches away from her when she did, but was too tired to care. Tigerkit was soon asleep.

As she slept, a warm, familiar scent wreathed Tigerkit's head, almost close enough to touch. She quickly woke up, trying to find the source of the wonderful scent, and saw a translucent gray cat before her. "I am your mother," the cat mewed quietly.

"What's your name?" Tigerkit whispered, not wanting to wake anyone.

"I can't tell you that until you're older," the cat mewed regretfully. "You might accidentally tell someone and make things worse for yourself."

"Wait a minute... you smell like ThunderClan! Am I really from this Clan?" Tigerkit asked hopefully. The gray cat shook her head in response.

"No, I am what they call a rogue. I have never been to ThunderClan. When I was dying, I took you here so that they could make your greencough better," said the gray she-cat. Tigerkit nodded, but had a strange feeling that her mother wasn't telling the full truth. The she-cat suddenly twitched, startled. "I have to leave," she meowed quickly, "But I will be back, my beloved Flamekit."

 _Flamekit?_ Tigerkit thought in confusion. _Maybe she said that by mistake._ Tigerkit tried to stay up to try and analyze what she had just seen, but was too tired to resist the warmth of the other kits.

When Tigerkit woke up, she instantly remembered the strange events of the night. _Maybe it was just a dream._

Tigerkit and Larkkit were soon playing a new game that Larkkit had invented, outside the confines of the nursery.

As they were pretending to be members of the ancient LeopardClan, they strayed farther from the nursery, and, so caught up in her game, Tigerkit tripped over yet another cat, Bumblestripe. "Sorry," Tigerkit muttered. Before the tom could say anything mean—Tigerkit was sure some sort of jibe would soon come from his jaws—the she-kit spoke again. "But don't tell me I'm a rogue," she spoke proudly. "I am Tigerkit of ThunderClan, and I don't care what you think!"


	4. Chapter 4

I-really-hope-not: Thanks for the advice, and I'm glad you like it! I'll be sure to go read the rest of your story and leave some comments right after I finish this chapter, or maybe tomorrow if I don't have the time. And you don't have poor writing skills! However, I did see some grammar errors, which rest assured I will be nitpicking later. :P

Sunfrost of Windclan: Thanks so much! :)

Here's the next chapter. Based on the reviews and suggestions I've gotten, I've decided to switch randomly between Bumblestripe and Tigerkit, but this one will be me wrapping up Tigerkit's kithood.

After a long day of play, Tigerkit and Larkkit lay curled together for one of the last days in Larkkit's kithood. In just three short sunrises, Larkkit would be apprenticed and Tigerkit would go through the pain of two boring moons of waiting to join him. There were no other kits in the nursery, just Lilyheart, who would be leaving with her kits, and Blossomfall, heavy with Thornstar's kits, who would be her mother until Tigerkit could be apprenticed. The dappled she-cat was kinder to Tigerkit than her mate, but Tigerkit still wasn't looking forward to the next two moons of her life.

While she slept soundly in the nursery, Tigerkit dreamed of hunting a mouse. The young kit couldn't remember ever being outside of camp, so the strong scents that she tasted when she opened her jaws were a bit artificial, but thrilling nonetheless. In her dream, Tigerkit's paws were full of strength and power that she marveled at as she quietly stalked up on the mouse, catching it quickly in her jaws and bringing the fresh-kill for herself to eat. It tasted just like the mice from ThunderClan's fresh-kill pile, only better because it was fresh and had been caught all by herself.

Tigerkit was sorry to have the dream end when she awoke. Larkkit was still sleeping soundly, and Tigerkit didn't bother to wake him, instead lying at the entrance to the nursery, watching the sun slowly rise over ThunderClan, and savoring the memory of her hunting dream. _I can't wait until I'm an apprentice!_ Tigerkit thought eagerly, but then her heart sunk when she reminded herself she'd have to sit in the nursery alone for two more moons, with nothing to do. _Well, I might as well play while I can!_ Tigerkit leapt playfully on top of Larkkit. "Come on, wake up! We have to pretend we're hunters today!" she yowled in a high-pitched voice. With a mrrow of annoyance, Larkkit flipped over and was quickly awake.

"If we're quiet, we can pretend Leafkit and Honeykit are our prey!" Larkkit suggested in a quiet, conspirative mew. Tigerkit nodded, happy to be finally playing again, and began walking toward the two kits. The kit's footsteps were thunderous and unskilled, but Tigerkit was so tiny that she barely made a sound thumping toward Leafkit and Honeykit. Larkkit stalked behind her, his pawsteps a bit more guided than hers. "Now!" Larkkit suddenly yowled. The two kits leapt onto the sleeping she-cats, purring uncontrollably with laughter and delight.

Honeykit and Leafkit, however, were less than thrilled. "Get off me, you dirty-blooded rogue!" Honeykit hissed. Tigerkit noticed that the she-kit used the exact same insult that she had once received from Thornstar. Maybe she had been taking lessons from the prickly leader. After overcoming her initial annoyance at the attack, Leafkit purred with amusement but stayed behind Honeykit and away from Tigerkit. Tigerkit tried to tell herself that Honeykit was the only one who really hated her, and Leafkit was just following along.

"Come on, play with us!" Larkkit begged, Tigerkit nodding in agreement. Leafkit looked to Honeykit as if asking her for permission, and though the look of disgust didn't leave her face, she nodded. "I guess just this once," she said to Leafkit, like a deputy giving a warrior orders. Leafkit purred with delight and leaped into Larkkit's and Tigerkit's game. "What are you playing?" she asked eagerly.

"We're pretending to be hunters. I'll be the prey!" Tigerkit announced, sitting down and putting a stupid expression on her face, as if she were emotionless prey with no idea that hunters were in the area. Leafkit led Larkkit in stalking Tigerkit, and eventually a great chase around ThunderClan camp, once the "squirrel" had "noticed" the kits creeping up on her. Honeykit watched on, seemingly unsure of what to do. Tigerkit felt smug that for once mean Honeykit was excluded, stopping for a moment to watch her and revel in the glorious feeling.

"Ha! I got you!" Larkkit yowled, pouncing onto Tigerkit the moment she became distracted.

"Aww, come on!" Tigerkit meowed loudly, suddenly feeling guilty that she'd been happy about Honeykit's discomfort.

"Can I be the prey next?" Leafkit asked eagerly. All thoughts of Honeykit were soon forgotten as the three kits played the day away, sharing a vole at sunhigh, and protesting their orders back into the nursery when the sun began to sink back into the ground.

The next two days flew by in a blur. Soon the rays of the sun were again peeking through the tightly-woven brambles of the nursery, and it was time for Lilyheart to lick her kits' pelts off. "Ow, stop it, you're hurting me!" Larkkkit protested as he received his bath. But his handsome black pelt was gleaming when Lilyheart finished, and he soon looked like a true warrior, proud and excited.

Once the three kits' pelts were gleaming like stars in Silverpelt, they made their way up the cliffs of camp to the Highledge, where Thornstar would be waiting to call the rest of the Clan to their apprentice ceremony. Thornstar dipped his head to the nervous and excited kits and gave a small purr of reassurance, once they were all sitting in a straight line on the Highledge. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here to hear what I have to say!" he yowled loudly, so that the entire Clan would hear. An excited buzzing came from the cats of ThunderClan, who had heard about the upcoming apprentice ceremony and were excited to see the kits' mentors—some hopeful to _be_ a new mentor.

Within a few minutes, the cats of ThunderClan were gathered at the base of the Highledge. Tigerkit sat on a small outcrop of rock above Thornstar's head, looking over ThunderClan, and either no one noticed or no one said anything. Honeykit was called first, shivering with fear and excitement.

"Honeykit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Honeypaw. Your mentor will be Poppyfrost. I hope Poppyfrost will pass down all she knows on to you," Thornstar meowed steadily, as Poppyfrost padded up to the kit and leader, gazing down gently at Honeypaw.

Thornstar turned toward Poppyfrost. "Poppyfrost,you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from myself, and you have shown yourself to be caring and courageous. You will be the mentor of Honeypaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Honeypaw." Poppyfrost nodded at Thornstar, and bent down to touch noses with the glowing Honeypaw. Lilyheart gave a purr as she saw her kit apprenticed to her own mentor. The new pair stepped to the side as Larkkit stepped forward to be apprenticed.

"Larkkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Larkpaw. Your mentor will be Berrynose. I hope Berrynose will pass down all he knows on to you," Thornstar mewed,

"Berrynose,you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Bramblestar, and you have shown yourself to be eager and strong. You will be the mentor of Larkpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Larkpaw." Once Thornstar had finished his part of the next apprentice's ceremony, Berrynose walked up to Larkpaw and touched noses with him. The apprentice, confused in all his nervousness, reached past Berrynose's nose and licked his shoulder. Berrynose chuffed in amusement, along with the rest of the Clan. "You're not a warrior yet, my friend!" he purred in a friendly tone. They touched noses, Larkpaw purring in laughter to match the Clan's.

Tigerkit watched Leafkit get apprenticed to Stormcloud, and after chanting the names of the new apprentices, the Clan dispersed to go on their patrols, and since it was barely sunhigh, the new apprentices were taken into the forest for their very first training sessions. Blossomfall saw Tigerkit on the piece of rock on the Highledge and didn't tell her to come down. The gentle she-cat seemed to sense Tigerkit's anguish at having her adoptive littermate leave and left her to her own devices.

Tigerkit sat on the outcrop of rock, looking over the entire ThunderClan camp. _I wish I'd found this place before they were apprenticed,_ Tigerkit thought sadly. _We could have had a lot of fun here._ The lonely kit sat on the rock, watching Larkpaw, Leafpaw, and Honeypaw slip through the brambles of the camp barrier, leaving camp for the first time.

Suddenly a warm, familiar scent wrapped around her. _My mother!_ Tigerkit thought excitedly. "Where are you?" Tigerkit mewed quietly, spinning wildly in circles trying to locate the translucent gray ghost. When she made a full circle, she found the gray she-cat sitting right next to her, gazing over the Clan. Tigerkit could feel the brush of her mother's pelt beside hers, but it was cold and felt as if she could walk right through it. "This is a good spot," her mother mewed. "Ivypool and I used to come up here when we were kits." Tigerkit stared at her mother for a moment, confused.

"You played with Ivypool when you were a kit? I thought you weren't from the Clan! Did you sneak here to play with her?" Tigerkit speculated. The gray she-cat purred and shook her head. "No. Now is the time for you to learn the truth. I am from ThunderClan, and Ivypool was—is my littermate." The she-cat watched the gears in Tigerkit's head turning. "That must make you Dovewing!" she gasped, hardly pausing for breath. "I've heard about you! They said you ran off with a ShadowClan cat and weren't allowed to come back to the Clan! Is it true?" Tigerkit asked breathlessly. Dovewing nodded.

"Please don't tell a single soul about this. You know how Thornstar is to cats born outside the Clan. It's even worse for inter-Clan cats. He might kick you out of the Clan or worse," Dovewing meowed nervously.

"Don't worry, I'll keep your secret," Tigerkit meowed, feeling trustworthy and proud. "I'll be careful," she added after a few moments. Dovewing nodded, purring to comfort her kit. Soon enough, the kit fired off a question. "Can the other cats see you? Maybe you should get off the ledge so nobody sees." Dovewing shook her head. "I can control who sees me," she mewed. "No one will see, hear, or smell me but you."

"Can my father come?" Tigerkit asked hopefully. Dovewing swallowed a lump of sadness in her throat before answering.

"No. He died far from the Clans and never made his way to StarClan. I was lucky to find my way quickly, but he still wanders the sky searching for us. We both died of greencough in our home far from the Clans, and you were taken to ThunderClan to recover from the sickness," Dovewing mewed. Tigerkit, surprisingly mature for her five moons, was overwhelmed by the same surge of sadness and respect that struck her mother. "What was his name?"

"Tigerheart."

"You named me after him?"

"No, but I like it best that way."

Tigerkit wondered what her first name had been, but was wise enough not to ask. She knew that asking more questions about the past would make her mother even more sorrowful, which she didn't want to happen. There was a long silence between the mother and her kit.

"Will you stay for a while?" Tigerkit finally asked, wanting to breathe in the scent of her ghostly mother for a while longer.

"Tigerkit, I never have to leave."

* * *

"Let all the cats old enough to catch their own prey gather at the Highledge to hear what I have to say!" Thornstar's loud yowl echoed importantly across the cliffs that made up ThunderClan's home. The cats of ThunderClan chattered excitedly, eager to welcome ThunderClan's newest apprentice.

"Tigerkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Tigerpaw. Your mentor will be Bumblestripe. I hope Bumblestripe will pass down all he knows on to you," Thornstar mewed proudly. Bumblestripe seemed shocked as he padded up to Highledge. As he looked at Tigerpaw, his expression had the air of a secret, buried deep within.

"Bumblestripe,you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Mousewhisker, and you have shown yourself to be skilled and wise. You will be the mentor of Tigerpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Tigerpaw." Bumblestripe went to touch noses with Tigerpaw, but Thornstar cleared his throat and continued, interrupting the sacred apprentice ceremony. "Tigerpaw, you were born a rogue in the forest, but I am willing to generously accept you as a member of ThunderClan. I trust that I won't be disappointed in you." Tigerpaw met Thornstar's eyes, confused. The leader's eyes carried a silent warning.

Tigerpaw nervously stretched her head up to touch her new mentor's nose, looking at Thornstar for confirmation. The leader nodded, and Tigerpaw touched noses with Bumblestripe. "I'll be the best apprentice I possibly can," Tigerpaw vowed, for the benefit of both Bumblestripe and Thornstar. Bumblestripe blinked warmly at her, and Tigerpaw took a deep breath, putting Thornstar's strange behavior behind her.

Dovewing had been watching from the outcrop on Highledge the entire time. Tigerpaw took comfort in her distant scent, and heard her mew, "You'll be the best apprentice ThunderClan has seen, my darling." Dovewing's words shot a spike of excitement through Tigerpaw. _I'll prove to cranky old Thornstar that I can be loyal to ThunderClan!_ she thought. _Starting right now!_


	5. Chapter 5

**I-really-hope-not: Thanks for the feedback! I read it through and tried to fix the errors where I called Dovewing male. I only found one though, tell me if you saw anything else if you don't mind.**

 **Tsunamistar: Thanks for all the suggestions, and I'm thrilled that you like it! However, I already have a warrior name planned for Tigerpaw, but thanks for the suggestion. I'm also going to stick with Mistystar since Leopardstar died quite a while ago, but I do like your idea of Thornstar being punished by StarClan, the idea will definitely be making an appearance in a later chapter! I'll consider making Ivypool into the new leader, I think she'd make a good one (but Thornstar might not have made her deputy because of her past affiliation with the Dark Forest). Did I specify that Ivypool was the deputy? Or is it just a suggestion? Either way, I'll think about it. Thanks again for all the help! :)**

Here's the next chapter! It would be great if anyone could leave some feedback for me! :)

Notes:

Sorry it took so long for me to publish this chapter. Chapter 6 should be out soon enough though, I might not even accept the grace of your comments before publishing! :3

Another update, I'm just doing the third-person subjective from Tigerpaw's point of view, not Bumblestripe. I tried it with Bumblestripe and I didn't like how it came out.

Alderpaw is mentioned in this one, since I'm using the apprentice's quest allegiances. We're just pretending that he never got a prophecy, though, and stayed a mediocre warrior apprentice and didn't become a medicine cat.

"Dovewing, will you come with me?" Tigerpaw mewed nervously, pacing the cave that made the apprentice's den. The other apprentices had already gone out for training, and Tigerpaw was left waiting for sun high, when she would have her very first assessment.

Dovewing shook her head apologetically. "Sorry, Tigerpaw. I know you'd just convince me to give you hunting advice, and you have to do this work on your own." Tigerpaw let out a low growl, not exactly angry at her mother but frustrated at her own nervousness and the fact that she might fail.

"Hey, Tigerpaw. Can I let you in on a secret?" Dovewing mewed. When her kit nodded, the she-cat continued, "I failed my first hunting assessment," she whispered, though no other cats could possibly hear them. Tigerpaw nearly fell out of the cave. " _What?_ But you went on to have your very own prophecy and save all of ThunderClan!" Tigerpaw exclaimed. Dovewing licked her less-than-solid chest fur, flustered by her kit's praise.

"Well, I didn't exactly save ThunderClan single-pawedly. But what I'm saying is that the outcome of this assessment doesn't really matter. I'm sure you'll try your hardest and I believe in you, but even if you don't make it, you'll still become a wonderful warrior," Dovewing mewed steadily. Tigerpaw nodded in silence for several moments, considering her mother's advice. "Well, it could be true, but to be the best warrior ThunderClan has ever seen, I have to be the best apprentice, too," the young apprentice meowed determinedly. Dovewing rolled her eyes. "Well, don't come crying back to me if you fail," she meowed playfully. "Good luck!"

Tigerpaw leapt gracefully down the rock ledges that led from the apprentice's cave, nestled in the cliff, down to the main camp, where the fresh-kill pile was high. It had been leaf-bare when Tigerpaw was delivered to ThunderClan as a kit, but now it was greenleaf, with careless prey skittering about in every corner of the forest. Tigerpaw had only been training for a quarter moon, and her assessment was a small one. She had only caught one piece of prey so far, a particularly scrawny vole, but she knew that her mentor, Bumblestripe, would be proud, and Thornstar might look down on her kindly for once if she managed to catch something else in her first assessment.

After sharing a few bites of a vole with Graystripe, Tigerpaw's favorite elder, who always had a fascinating story to share, Tigerpaw headed to the training hollow to meet Bumblestripe for her assessment. She squeezed through the thorn barrier at the exit of ThunderClan's camp, wincing as some of her fur was pulled out by the sharp brambles. Taking a moment to breathe in the rich scents of the forest, Tigerpaw made her way to the sandy, barren ground where they practiced battle moves and hunting techniques.

"Ready for your first assessment?" Bumblestripe meowed loudly, seeming to be even more excited than Tigerpaw was. Even though the young apprentice wasn't his first, he wasn't lacking in enthusiasm. "Ready as I'll ever be," Tigerpaw mewed nervously, staring at her paws, which were shaking slightly.

"Don't worry, Tigerpaw," Bumblestripe mewed gently. "The first assessment doesn't matter, you've barely had a quarter moon's training. Just do your best, but if you don't catch anything, you'll still make a great warrior!" he meowed encouragingly.

 _Ugh. No one gets it_ , Tigerpaw thought. _A great warrior isn't good enough. I have to be the_ best _warrior._ I _have to be the apprentice to catch_ five _pieces of prey with every assessment, take care of the elders like they're my kits, and send my enemies yowling in fear with the first blow. I have to be the apprentice to impress Thornstar!_

"Hello? Tigerpaw?" Bumblestripe meowed after a few seconds. Tigerpaw had become a bit lost in her old world, but quickly snapped to attention.

"I'm ready!" she yowled, filled with newfound confidence, not inspired by Bumblestripe's short lecture, but by her own confidence that she _could_ be the best. Bumblestripe gave an encouraging purr. "Go out there, and do your best!"

Tigerpaw scampered into the forest, stalking quietly towards the Ancient Oak. She'd been taught that it was a popular hideout for mice. It was a fair distance from where Tigerpaw was now, and every paw step was spent making sure that she was as quiet as possible. The young, untrained apprentice didn't notice many of the prey scents hovering around her, and even a squirrel nibbling on acorns in the corner of her vision was ignored as she set off toward the Ancient Oak, bent on catching a plump mouse for Graystripe to enjoy.

Soon enough, Tigerpaw reached the great tree, and took a deep breath as she admired its beauty. It stood easily fifty tail-lengths, and was two fox-lengths thick. Its gnarled branches were perfect for reaching paws into, and it was the most common place for ThunderClan to practice attack from the trees. But Tigerpaw would learn that later; all she concentrated on now was finding the perfect mouse.

She opened her jaws to inhale the scents around her; while the scent of the bracken and spruce overpowered almost everything else, Tigerpaw thought she scented a trace of mouse near the base of the tree. She began stalking silently toward it, practicing what she had learned, careful not to quake the ground and startle the mouse. Her paws skillfully avoided all the rotten leaves on the ground that would make a wet sound and give her away, and soon she was only tail-lengths from the tree.

Suddenly, Tigerpaw saw the mouse in a small crevice of the tree. Its back was to her, and it was nibbling on a seed held between its small paws, oblivious to the eager hunter stalking behind it. Tigerpaw poised her legs for the spring, and...

In her excitement, she had dragged her tail along the ground, letting the mouse know that she was there. It quickly darted into a crevice in the tree, too narrow for even Tigerpaw's small paws to reach into. The apprentice brushed a paw over her face in frustration. _There will be others,_ she thought. The mouse's alarm had alerted all the other prey in the near area to the cat's presence, but Tigerpaw was determined to find something else. She decided to head to the other end of ThunderClan territory.

This time, Tigerpaw paid attention to the prey-scents around her, but though she picked up many scents in the rich environment of ThunderClan's territory, she could never get close enough to any scent to actually spot the prey. She slowly moved through the forest, hoping that a stupid piece of prey would walk into her paws before sundown.

But the sun stretched further into the sky and eventually began to dip down as the forest began to darken. Bumblestripe padded out of his hiding place in a nearby bush, where he had recently moved to watch Tigerpaw hunt. "It's alright," he mewed gently. "I know plenty of cats who failed their first assessments. It doesn't mean anything!" But Tigerpaw walked sullenly past him, not acknowledging her mentor's comfort. She noticed that Bumblestripe hadn't said _he_ failed his first assessment. She wasn't even as good as her soft, purring mentor when he was an apprentice.

Bumblestripe didn't pursue Tigerpaw, not wanting to upset the young apprentice. When Tigerpaw walked into camp through the bramble tunnel, the warm scent of her mother wrapped around her. "Go away. I don't want you here," Tigerpaw snapped, stamping up to the apprentice's den, too angry and disappointed to eat. Larkpaw had returned from his training already, and noticed the dark cloud of frustration that Tigerpaw brought in with her. He didn't bother to ask how her assessment had gone, but instead tried to comfort her again.

"It's fine, it's not a big deal. You can still be a warrior!" he mewed. But Tigerpaw sensed a little disappointment in him too. Larkpaw had gotten off on the wrong foot with his training, and been a bit behind. He had hoped that if Tigerpaw excelled, they could have their warrior ceremonies together like real littermates would.

Tigerpaw curled up into her moss nest without responding, hoping that Larkpaw would leave her to her misery. She grew warm and comfortable in her nest, and eventually drifted off into sleep.

And at once, Tigerpaw was stalking through the forest, reliving the moment of her missed catch over and over again. _You can do better!_ Tigerpaw thought as her tail dragged across the ground for a fifth time. As she missed the catch again, playing an infinite loop in her dream, Tigerpaw saw another tail dragging on the ground as its owner whisked through the forest. _Who are you?_ She stepped away from the tantalizing mouse and followed it curiously. The tail kept moving through the bracken and bushes, its owner always disguised by the barriers of the forest.

Tigerpaw began to smell the unpleasant burning scent of the Thunderpath, and knew she had to act before the intruder left Clan territory. Even in her dreams, Tigerpaw was uncomfortable leaving her Clan. "Who are you?" Tigerpaw yowled out, and the silhouette of a cat suddenly turned around, facing her with deep, dark eyes. Tigerpaw gasped in shock. The cat only had a few tufts of hair on his entire body, and the tail that had been previously disguised in shadow was as naked as a rat's.

"Tigerpaw," the cat whispered. "I've been looking for you. I am Rock." There was a long pause of several seconds as the cat seemed to struggle to remember what he was about to say. He inhaled with a raspy breath and continued in a rattling voice, with a strange air of importance to it. "Only the cat pricked by a thorn bush can see that there's something wrong with it," he meowed. Tigerpaw stopped for a moment with confusion, not understanding the strange sentence.

But then Rock continued. "Likewise, you will solve a problem that only you will see. _Only one can heal the wound which shall be pricked into the stars."_ As the hairless cat mewed his second sentence, his voice became even raspier and he became fixated on Tigerpaw. The apprentice narrowed her eyes, confused again. "What does that even mean?" she asked.

"The problem will overthrow the solution, the wrong will fix the right," Rock replied vaguely. A rustling echoed behind him in the trees, and he quickly whirled around to face it. "I must go," Rock meowed urgently. "Someday, you will understand. It is not my place to tell you. But go, Tigerpaw, and know you are destined for great things."

With that, leaving no room for a response from Tigerpaw, Rock whirled around and disappeared back into the forest. Tigerpaw knew it was no use following him. _You are destined for great things,_ Rock had said. A great hope filled Tigerpaw's heart. Maybe she wouldn't be the failure of an apprentice who couldn't even pass a hunting assessment. _You are destined for great things._

Tigerpaw headed back to the Ancient Oak in her dream, stalking up on a mouse with her tail poised quietly in the air, and instantly dispatched it with a purr of satisfaction. She'd find a way.

When the young apprentice awoke, she found Larkpaw curled up beside her, even though she'd told him in her anger to stay away from her. "Stupid furball," Tigerpaw mewed to herself, but felt more affection for her adoptive littermate than anger.

The sun was barely peeking through the trees when Tigerpaw marched into the warriors' den and shamelessly prodded her mentor awake. She shushed him when he protested, and once they were outside, announced, "We're going training right now!"

"Since when do you get to decide?" Bumblestripe purred with laughter at his suddenly-enthusiastic apprentice.

"I need to catch more than a scrawny vole. I need to be the greatest apprentice ever!" Tigerpaw meowed. Bumblestripe gave another purr but reluctantly agreed.

"Well, attitude-wise, you're already better than you were yesterday!" Bumblestripe commented encouragingly. Tigerpaw gave a small purr. She eyed the fresh-kill pile hungrily but made a point of not taking anything, since she would be the best Clan cat and never break the warrior code of not eating before training. The apprentice trotted through the bramble tunnel and out of camp, into the training hollow. _You are destined for great things!_

The apprentice and mentor practiced at battle for the entire day. Bumblestripe was excused from patrol duties for training, and about halfway through the day, Tigerpaw proudly pinned her mentor to the ground for a few moments before his enormous strength brought him back up. The sun began to set and ThunderClan's territory grew dark and unfamiliar, so Bumblestripe and Tigerpaw reluctantly padded back to camp, Bumblestripe congratulating Tigerpaw on a great day's work.

Coming into the apprentice's den that night, Tigerpaw gave Larkpaw a friendly purr, letting him know that he was forgiven. The black apprentice, exhausted from a long day's patrol, managed only a small purr back before putting his head down again and resuming his sleep. All the other apprentices, Honeypaw, Leafpaw, Sparkpaw, and Alderpaw, slowly trickled in over the next few minutes, letting out huge yawns and quickly settling down in their nests.

Tigerpaw was curled up in her warm, soft moss nest, but even though the other apprentices were snoring, couldn't seem to sleep. After a while, she crept quietly out of her nest. The night patrol was already out, and no one would see her if she went down into the main camp to try out her idea.

Tigerpaw spent several long hours into the night lashing paws out at rocks, sticks, the ground, and even a piece of fresh kill—but when she ripped its fur the smallest amount, she quickly felt guilty and gently returned it to the pile. She could feel herself getting better at the battle move, and buzzed with excitement to show Bumblestripe how good she was the next day. Tigerpaw finally returned to her nest just before the night patrol got back, finally exhausted.

"Dawn patrol!" Bumblestripe announced, meandering into the apprentices' den. All the apprentices awoke, but Tigerpaw was the only one who sprang excitedly out of her nest. "Think I'll catch some prey today?" she asked Bumblestripe, hoping for another mouse that she could eat while renewing ThunderClan's border markings. Her mentor shrugged. "But we can work on catching mice on our patrol today!"

Again, Tigerpaw was up late into the night tossing her piece of fresh-kill around, pretending it was prey. She was confident that her hunting skills were much better when she was finished. Before going to bed, she scarfed down the vole that she'd been practicing hunting on, having caught nothing the previous day and having a growling stomach.

The next few nights were for battle practice; but once Tigerpaw turned back to hunting she caught two pieces of prey in a single day.

A half-moon later, when Tigerpaw had been training almost every night, she pinned her mentor for the ground with strength behind her paws, keeping him down until he gave up. "Nice job!" he had mewed, astonished. Tigerpaw's heart filled with joy. _I_ can _be the best._


	6. Chapter 6

I-really-hope-not- Thanks! :D

Next chapter. Not too much to say about this one.

Tigerpaw stalked through ThunderClan's forest, feeling the soft moss underneath her paws squish slightly where she treaded. She was hot on the trail of a squirrel; not her favorite prey, but keeping the fresh-kill pile well-stocked was important. Tigerpaw was on a hunting patrol with Bumblestripe, Whitewing, Honeypaw, and her mentor, Poppyfrost. Tigerpaw had split off of the patrol to pursue the squirrel that Bumblestripe had scented for her, while the others continued in search of prey. It wasn't hard to find in the hot months of greenleaf, but running through the hot forest had all the cats short of breath. Tigerpaw was glad to be stalking slowly through the forest, not writhing in the agony of running around in the greenleaf sun's heat.

Tigerpaw smelled the scent of squirrel slowly getting fresher until she was sure that she would trip over the prey any moment now, so she pressed herself up against a tree so as not to be seen. She surveyed the forest carefully, eyes wandering over every tree branch that could serve as a hideout for a hairy squirrel. Her head snapped to the side as she spotted a flicker of movement in the corner of her eye. The squirrel.

"I've got you," Tigerpaw mewed happily to herself as she saw that the squirrel was in a high branch on the tree just below her. She could use her recently-learned tree climbing skills to climb up and get the prey.

Tigerpaw unsheathed her claws and dug them into the flaking bark of the oak tree. Heaving herself up, grabbing on with her back claws, and moving her front paws farther up the tree, the apprentice slowly climbed up the tree, with much less skill than most ThunderClan cats—she'd only just learned, and there were no trees in camp to practice on at night. But the squirrel still didn't notice her. It was much further up on the tree, nibbling on an acorn with its back turned to Tigerpaw.

Tigerpaw triumphantly scrabbled onto the first high branch of the tree. It supported her weight well, and so did the next branch that she leapt onto. She began to climb with more ease, leaping onto higher and higher branches instead of hugging the tree like a panda.

Once Tigerpaw got higher up the tree, she became more careful, testing each branch she leapt onto first to make sure that it would hold her weight, and treading as lightly as she could so that the squirrel wouldn't notice that she was there and try to make a break for it.

Eventually Tigerpaw got to about the same level as the squirrel, but on another branch, with the thick trunk of the oak tree separating predator and prey. She snaked around the tree and tried to leap around the tree to grab the squirrel, but her lunge was unsuccessful. Tigerpaw scrambled for purchase but hadn't put enough power into her leap to reach the next branch, and ended up falling to a lower branch, where she clung, terrified, fur sticking out like pine needles.

The squirrel had become very aware of Tigerpaw's presence with the racket that she made trying to stay in the tree. When it made an attempt to scurry down the tree, Tigerpaw gathered the very last ounce of her courage and scooted down after it. It was hard coming down from the tree, and she ended up falling some more and bouncing off of a few leafy branches. But she kept up with the squirrel until the last ten tail-lengths, where she released the tree and fell to the ground of her own will, taking the squirrel down with her.

"Gotcha!" Tigerpaw cried in success, dispatching her prey with a swift bite to the neck. She lay for a moment on the rotten leaves from last leaf-fall, catching her breath with the warm prey heavy in her mouth. Then she trotted happily back to the hunting patrol, encumbered a bit by the plump squirrel that she'd caught.

Whitewing, Bumblestripe, and Poppyfrost had nothing but praise for Tigerpaw when she rejoined the patrol. "Wow, that's such a huge piece of prey!" Whitewing exclaimed. Tigerpaw didn't know that extra enthusiasm was put into her voice for the sake of the apprentice. Though the tiger tabby from outside the Clan might irritate Thornstar, Tigerpaw was popular with the rest of the Clan.

Honeypaw sulked as Tigerpaw was praised; still not a fan of the tabby apprentice.

The hunting patrol continued along ThunderClan's territory, tasting the air every now and then, finding prey scents, but most were stale. Tigerpaw shivered with excitement as she realized that there was a fresh mouse scent leading right off the trail that the cats were plowing through the bracken. "Smell that mouse?" Tigerpaw mewed. Honeypaw instantly lit up with excitement. "Can I go catch it?" she meowed to Poppyfrost, who nodded.

"Good luck!" Tigerpaw meowed after her, careful not to yowl and disturb the prey.

Soon enough, Honeypaw came out with a plump mouse dangling from her jaws. "Great job!" Poppyfrost mewed to her. "Let's see if you can scent anything else."

The hunting patrol continued along the path. It was beginning to become dark when Whitewing suddenly veered off the path and dropped into a stalk. The other cats fell silent as Whitewing lunged and came up with a delicious-smelling vole. Other than that, no more prey was caught. Bumblestripe had caught two mice earlier that day, so it wasn't a bad haul.

As the hunting patrol brought their fresh prey into camp, they were met by excited meows and stomachs growling for fresh prey. Their contribution to the fresh-kill pile was quickly demolished, but Tigerpaw had pulled Honeypaw's mouse aside. "Want to share?" she asked. Honeypaw simply grabbed the mouse from Tigerpaw's jaws, turned away from her, and began eating. Tigerpaw chuffed with amusement. "Jeez, Honeypaw!" Tigerpaw purred, and dug a slightly stale vole out from the fresh-kill pile.

Tigerpaw was exhausted after the day's long hunting patrol, and settled right into her nest, instead of practicing her apprentice skills like usual. She was kept awake for a while though, wondering about Dovewing. Her mother hadn't visited her in four sunrises. _Why?_ Tigerpaw wondered. The apprentice slept fitfully, her dreams occupied by visions of her mother and every awful fantasy about what could have happened to her. _Could she have died within StarClan? Banished from StarClan for having me?_ _Stopped loving me, even?_

But the dawn came around eventually, and while Tigerpaw was still tired, she left the apprentice's den when the sun began to rise over camp. "Border patrol today," Bumblestripe told Tigerpaw. "Ugh!" Tigerpaw complained. Border patrol was her least favorite job. She had to smell the stink of bordering WindClan and ShadowClan all day, and while she could eat the prey she caught (or else Bumblestripe would), she didn't feel the burst of joy that she got from helping her Clan on a hunting patrol. "Who put mouse bile in your prey?" Bumblestripe joked. "Come on, let's go."

Thornstar was stretching in the middle of camp's clearing when the mentor and apprentice made their appearance. "Are you on the border patrol today?" Thornstar asked. His voice was friendly for Bumblestripe, but his eyes always seemed to carry a warning when they stared at Tigerpaw. Bumblestripe nodded. "I'd like to join you, then," Thornstar mewed. So the patrol of three cats, Tigerpaw, Bumblestripe, and Thornstar,, was created.

Tigerpaw padded reluctantly after Bumblestripe, feeling a bit better once she got into the forest and inhaled its comforting odors. The greenleaf forest was still rich with fresh prey-scents, but Tigerpaw caught a hint of a strange smell, like leaves rotting, except different. She assumed that it was leaf-fall beginning to show its colors. She spotted a few yellow, crinkly leaves on the ground. Tigerpaw turned to Bumblestripe to ask him if he thought that leaf fall was approaching.

But as she turned to her mentor, he leapt to the base of a tree, dispatching a mouse that had been stupidly nibbling on seeds. "Yum!" Tigerpaw yowled without realizing how loud she was being. "Sorry!" Tigerpaw whispered after her yowl, realizing that she'd probably just disturbed all the prey in the forest.

But something close to the mentor and apprentice had been alerted to her yowl, and it made a rustling noise as it loped through the fallen leaves. Without waiting to ask Bumblestripe, Tigerpaw leapt after the noise, hoping that the heavy-sounding footsteps would be a plump, juicy rabbit. Tigerpaw had only tasted rabbit once, but she knew they crashed through the forest like monsters and were more delicious than even mice.

Bumblestripe and Thornstar ran quickly after Tigerpaw, also knowing what she was after and wanting to help her catch the rabbit, which could feed half the Clan if it was plump enough.

After only a few tail-lengths of running, Tigerpaw stopped in her tracks, suddenly scenting what she was chasing and wrinkling her nose in disgust. "This isn't rabbit scent, it's ShadowClan!" Tigerpaw mewed urgently to the patrol. The four cats chased the sound more urgently, and the crashing through the trees continued. Bumblestripe ran ahead of the group, and they were breathing hard by the time they reached the Thunderpath, right behind three ShadowClan cats.

The three cats paused frantically at the edge of the Thunderpath. They couldn't cross because a monster was approaching rapidly. Tigerpaw had heard that ShadowClan had a secret tunnel under the Thunderpath, but they wouldn't let any other Clan know about it. She assumed that they didn't use it because they knew that ThunderClan was gaining on them and would be able to see it.

But they hadn't realized just how close the border patrol was. Before the ShadowClan cat had a chance to whirl around and fight, Bumblestripe had him pinned to the ground right in front of the Thunderpath. The other two cats stayed to defend their Clanmate, snarling at the approaching ThunderClan patrol.

A ShadowClan cat barreled into Bumblestripe, who was still holding their Clanmates down. Tigerpaw saw that the three cats were Spikefur, Snowbird, and Rippletail, who she vaguely remembered from ThunderClan. "Get off of our territory, ShadowClan flea-pelts!" Tigerpaw spat at the intruders. For a moment, their gazes were drawn to Tigerpaw and Spikefur gasped. "Tigerheart!" he yowled.

Bumblestripe answered for Tigerpaw. "What are you meowing about? This isn't Tigerheart! She's part of ThunderClan! She's probably never even heard of Tigerheart!" Bumblestripe yowled, his fur standing a little too high on end, becoming a little too nervous to be sure about what he was saying. That was when Tigerpaw's blood ran cold. _He knows! He knows that I'm half-Clan!_ Tigerpaw realized.

A monster whizzed by on the Thunderpath, the breeze that it left in its wake ruffling the pelts of the feuding cats. "Don't be so sure! She's the spitting image of Tigerheart, and we both know he ran off with Dovewing just a few seasons ago!" Rippletail meowed, siding with his Clanmate. Thornstar narrowed his eyes, glancing sideways at Tigerpaw with an unspoken promise to address this later. "That doesn't matter right now," Thornstar spat importantly. "Get off of our territory!"

Spikefur instantly shot out at Thornstar, needle-sharp teeth reaching for his neck. But the leader slipped to the side almost instantly, letting out a loud hiss. In an instant, ThunderClan's border patrol was fighting the intruders, and Tigerpaw found herself faces with muscular Snowbird, who gave a slight purr when she saw Tigerpaw, and how easy her enemy would be to defeat. "Puny little ThunderClan apprentice…or should I say half-Clan?" Snowbird meowed tauntingly, gracefully hopping just out of reach of Tigerpaw's claws.

"I am _ThunderClan!"_ Tigerpaw yowled, leaping forward suddenly and toppling a surprised Snowbird two the ground. The two cats writhed and screeched, and so much adrenaline surged through Tigerpaw's veins that she couldn't tell if the blood she tasted was hers or Snowbird's.

Tigerpaw was eventually pinned by her enemy, but by relaxing under Snowbird's paws and feigning defeat, she was able to get back on top, her heart hammering. Snowbird let out another angry yowl and the two cats rolled closer to the Thunderpath in a back-and-forth game of power.

When Snowbird swiped at Tigerpaw's legs, the apprentice leapt to the side to evade her sharp claws. Tigerpaw lunged back towards Snowbird, feeling her paws leave the grass and scrape against the hard surface of the Thunderpath. But there was suddenly a yowl of pain and a dull _thunk_ and Tigerpaw landed on a limp Snowbird. Tigerpaw gasped, filling quickly with fear, as she glanced down the Thunderpath and saw the monster that had caused their fight to end so suddenly.

"Snowbird!" Spikefur cried, bounding over to his wounded Clanmate. The fight between ThunderClan and ShadowClan was ended instantly. Spikefur grabbed Snowbird by the scruff of the neck and dragged her to the side of the Thunderpath. Her sides were still heaving, but blood was gushing from her back and when she finally spoke it was in a heaving, scratchy voice. "Half-Clan… _Tigerheart_ …this is all…your…fault." Snowbird's words were uttered slowly, as if she was choking on a piece of prey, but all the cats watching her silently knew she wasn't.

"Tell Scorchfur I love him," Snowbird choked out quietly, before her body shuddered and stilled. Spikefur and Rippletail let out identical yowls of anguish. Bumblestripe beckoned Tigerpaw back with a flick of his tail. The apprentice's heart sank as her heart stopped thudding so fast and she overcame her shock enough to realize what she'd just done. "No! Snowbird!" Tigerpaw finally cried, but it was too late.

Thornstar gently nudged Spikefur with his nose. "I think you've been punished enough. Leave now, and we won't speak of this again," the leader mewed reasonably. Rippletail nodded and took Snowbird's limp body by the scruff. The two remaining ShadowClan cats scurried across the Thunderpath when there were no monsters to be seen, and quickly disappeared into the thick pine forest of ShadowClan.

The three ThunderClan cats stood in the grass beside the Thunderpath in silence and shock. After several moments, Tigerpaw broke the silence. "I'm... _so_ sorry," she meowed. It didn't sound like enough. Bumblestripe watched worriedly on as Thornstar gazed at the apprentice, as eyes slightly glazed with sadness filled with contempt. "Leave," Thornstar hissed eventually. Tigerpaw cowered.

"I'll head back to camp," she mewed quietly. Thornstar stepped in front of Tigerpaw before she could leave.

"No. Not the patrol. Leave the Clan. I know the truth about you now," Thornstar spat.

"You'd believe everything those mangy ShadowClan cats say?" Tigerpaw meowed uncomfortably, not sure that the tone of her mew was at all convincing.

"You killed a Clan cat!" Thornstar hissed. "Nothing good can come of half-blood cats! Nothing!" he yowled. "All you attract is death. Leave, Tigerpaw!"

Tigerpaw protested. "But then I can't heal the wound that's poked in the stars!" Tigerpaw reached desperately for any reason to stay in ThunderClan, reciting loosely from memory what the strange, naked cat had said to her several moons ago. Thornstar's ears pricked instantly. "A prophecy!" he yowled, for some reason sounding triumphant. "That will bring no good to ThunderClan, Tiger. We're better off without you."

Tigerpaw noticed that Thornstar had taken the 'paw' off of her name, stripped her of what made her ThunderClan, and she knew that there was no more room for protest. Tigerpaw hung her head slow and after blinking warmly at Bumblestripe in goodbye, scampered across the Thunderpath. Instead of heading into the ShadowClan pine forest, Tigerpaw turned the other way, and headed off into the unknown.


End file.
